KAPAA – It wasn’t enough to earn decent grades academically for Kapaa High School sophomore Kainalu Gandia. He and his 14 Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps classmates wanted to take home top honors at the 2014 Waianae Adventure Challenge
KAPAA – It wasn’t enough to earn decent grades academically for Kapaa High School sophomore Kainalu Gandia.
He and his 14 Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps classmates wanted to take home top honors at the 2014 Waianae Adventure Challenge on Oahu the last weekend in April.
The eight males and seven females met the challenge by winning first place overall in their division, beating out 25 other schools.
“Yes, it was very hard,” Gandia said. “But I feel tremendously accomplished. We gave it our all for every event with only five to 20 minutes between each one.”
Those events included the 100 meter swim, quarter mile paddling, rope bridge river crossing, obstacles courses, among others — all timed events.
The 2013 team also took home first place overall in 2013 and third place overall in 2012. Wanting to take home the “Eagle” first-place trophy, the 2014 team trained an average of 17 hours each week for three months to prepare for the challenge.
“We did a lot of running on trails and beaches, swimming, paddling and cardio. We worked hard to maintain the areas we were strong in last year,” said Sgt. Ian Verasammy, the JROTC Army instructor.
Gandia said he’ll continue to train and go out for next year’s team as well as for the 2016 competition. He plans to join the Air Force after he graduates.
“This will help me prepare for basic training,” Gandia said.
“I’m extremely proud of them,” Verasammy said. “Hard work pays off. That is one of the things we emphasize in class and in training. Their work paid off when it counted.”
“We were really dedicated to give it our all and the results just show for themselves,” Gandia said.
• Lisa Ann Capozzi, features and education reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
